At least two people were killed and two seriously injured when a tank containing flammable liquid exploded in a former fuel warehouse in the Czech Republic on Friday, emergency services said. "Two people are dead and two seriously injured," emergency service spokeswoman Lenka Markovicova told AFP.
"The injured men were taken to hospital by helicopters, one with 20-30 percent burns and possibly a broken spine and pelvis, the other in a very critical condition with 70 percent burns," she added. Local emergency service head Stanislav Mackovik said the two dead had been crushed by the tank which fell on them after the explosion in Ceska Lipa, a town about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the capital Prague.
The local fire brigade said on its website the explosion occurred before 11:30 am (1030 GMT). "The blast wave could be felt 400 metres (yards) from the explosion site," the fire brigade said, adding fire-fighters had put out the fire by 12:45 (1145 GMT).